Hegseth reveals what happened during the pivotal confirmation meeting with Ernst

The election of President-elect Donald Trump for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth celebrated that he had a “great meeting” with Sen. Joni Ernst after the Iowa Republican slowly backed the Cabinet nominee.

“It was a great meeting. People don’t really know. I’ve known Senator Ernst for over 10 years. I met her when I was a state senator running to be the first female combat veteran,” Hegseth told Fox News. ‘ Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview Monday evening. “And we supported her in that effort, and we’ve continued to do so.”

“Go into these meetings and listen to the senators, it’s an incredible advisory and consent process, and hear how thoughtful and serious and substantive they are on these key issues that pertain to our Department of Defense,” he continued. “And Joni Ernst is front and center on this. So to be able to have phone calls and meetings over and over again to talk about the issues is very, very important. The fact that she’s willing to support me in this process means a lot.”

AFTER SECOND MEETING WITH HEGSETH, ERNST ASSIGNS WHETHER OR NOT TO GIVE CONFIRMATION

Hegseth has spent his days on Capitol Hill meeting with Republican senators to rally support as he battles allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and mismanagement of a veterans nonprofit. Hegseth has denied the allegations and has vowed not to drink “a drop of alcohol” if he is confirmed to Trump’s cabinet.

PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘HE’LL BE HERE MORE IN THIS FIGHT’ AFTER MEETING WITH SENATORS

In between Hegseth’s meetings Monday, he met again with Ernst, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, after meeting with her last week.

Last week, Ernst refrained from committing to a vote for Hegseth, but on Monday hinted that he was starting to vote. support candidate Trump.

Ernst wrote in a statement Monday that “as I support Pete in this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on the truth, not anonymous sources.”

He added in his statement that “following our encouraging conversations, Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women – based on the quality and standards, not quotas – and who will prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks.”

Trump nominated Hegseth, a former National Guard officer defense secretary last monthsaying “with Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice: our Army will be great again and America will never back down.” Hegseth was host of “Fox & Friends Weekend” before Trump’s nomination.

Fox News Digital reported Sunday, after Ernst’s initial hesitation to back Hegseth, that Trump’s allies were expected to step up criticism of her as she stops short of supporting Defense Secretary trump

CONSERVATIVE GROUP STACKS ‘WOKE’ LIST OF SENIOR OFFICIALS WHO WANT PETE HEGSETH ON

“It’s really that simple: If you oppose President Trump’s nominees, you oppose Trump’s agenda, and there will be a political price to pay for that. We are well aware that there are certain establishment senators who they’re trying to shut down the president’s candidates to make him look weak and damage him politically, and we’re just not going to let that happen,” a Trump ally told Fox News Digital.

Hegseth continued in his interview with Hannity that he will also meet with Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, whom Hannity identified as a pair of more liberal Republican senators compared to his colleagues.

“We’re meeting with Senator Collins on Wednesday and Senator Murkowski on Tuesday. And let me tell you, Sean, the founders got it right. This is not a trivial process. This is a real thing: advising and consenting to a President-elect nominee And I’m very grateful that President Trump had faith in me to lead the Department of Defense, to choose me to go through that process, meeting with all the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee , and they all have great questions, and my answers are for them,” Hegseth said.

The SecDef nominee also backed off about claims of impropriety during the interview, arguing that “the left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media — show a trial — and we’re not going to let that happen.”

“I’m going to walk in the door of each of these senators with just, like an open book, ready to answer their questions, because they deserve answers… I’ve heard good things about all of these senators and the questions they want to ask, and hopefully getting those votes, that’s ultimately what it’s all about, getting the votes through the committee and the entire United States Senate,” he said.

DOZENS OF PROMINENT VETERANS SIGN LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR ‘OUTSTANDING’ HEGSETH NOMINATION AMID CONTROVERSY

Reports emerged last week that Trump had lost faith in his nominee as Democrats criticized the choice and some Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, called the allegations against Hegseth “disturbing.” Trump rejected the claims as he doubled down on his support for Hegseth in a Truth Social post on Friday, while Vice President-elect JD Vance also said the Trump team is “not abandoning this nomination.”

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“Pete Hegseth is doing great. His support is strong and deep,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. “He will be a fantastic, high-energy Secretary of Defense, one who leads with charisma and skill. Pete is a WINNER, and nothing can be done to change that!!!”

Fox News Digital’s Cameron Cawthorne and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.